English as the New Standard: Understanding Language Policies Under Trump
English as the Official Language of the U.S. On March 1st, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States. This marks the first time the country has ever designated an official language in its nearly 250-year history. Currently, thirty states have already established English as their […]
Understanding Banning Books in Schools and Public Libraries
Introduction Book banning occurs when an entity like a school, library, or government takes action to remove, censor, or block access to a book due to objections to its content. Throughout history, in the United States, book banning has been employed by such institutions as a means to prevent the spread of information that contradicts […]
Understanding the Critical Race Theory Debate
Critical race theory began as a legal concept that explained how policies can be used to enforce a system that benefits white individuals while ignoring minorities and people placed at an economic disadvantage, focusing on systemic effects of racism. In public K-12 education, critical race theory can be defined as a method of teaching that […]
Understanding the School Voucher Debate
One component of the school choice movement is the implementation of school vouchers, which allow for the use of education tax dollars for tuition at private schools. Policies including K-12 tuition tax credits and educational savings accounts (ESAs) are examples of school vouchers. School voucher programs have varied across states, and several states have added, […]
Understanding the Affirmative Action Debate in Higher Education
Background Affirmative action refers to policies which seek to positively discriminate towards racial, ethnic, gender, or other groups that may be underrepresented or have been discriminated against in the past. In the U.S. affirmative action is typically used in the admissions process of higher education institutions to help increase racial diversity at universities. Though race-based […]
Basic Needs Insecurity in Higher Education
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Race Gap in U.S Higher Education
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